WASHINGTON — Four astronauts dock at the International Space Station for a months-long research mission, replacing a crew forced to return to Earth early over a medical issue.
The US space agency’s Crew-12 arrives at the orbiting laboratory after a journey of about 34 hours that started with blastoff from Cape Canaveral, Florida aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
“We have bridged the legacy of humankind’s continuous presence in space spanning more than 25 years at this very site,” Jewish American astronaut Jessica Meir says after docking at the ISS.
“As we look back at Earth from these windows, we are reminded that cooperation is not just possible, it is essential. Up here, there are no borders and hope is universal.”
Other members of Crew-12 are American Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
The foursome is replacing Crew-11, which returned to Earth in January a month earlier than planned, in the first medical evacuation in the space station’s history.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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